A unified method for multi-body systems subject to stick-slip friction and intermittent contact

Simulations of objects whose interaction change due to intermittent contact, collision, sticking or slipping traditionally employ mathematical models of the system in each topology. Usually these simulations rely on a tedious process of deriving separate dynamical equations for each topology and sophisticated switching logic to select the appropriate model. We introduce a unified method which requires deriving only a single set of equations and simple switching.